


Awakenings

by badassbutterfly1987



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Bad Parenting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Parent/Child Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27232432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badassbutterfly1987/pseuds/badassbutterfly1987
Summary: It is the duty of each House Lord or Lady to help their new members adjust after they learn of their nature. The same obligations apply to Lord Raith.
Relationships: Lord Raith & House Raith, Lord Raith & his family
Kudos: 2





	1. Lara

**Author's Note:**

> Brief ficlets about the Raith kids first realizing their natures and how they react from Lord Raith's perspective.

Lord Raith only had two children before Lara. The girl died in infancy and the boy did not live past age 14. Lara is the first one he introduces to what they really are.

Lara grows up in Florence when the Medici family is in power. Her cleverness is apparent at an early age. She is a fast learner and determined to impress her father.

Lord Raith does not love her. They are monsters, and love has no place in the hearts of monsters. But he does grow fond of her. She deserves a place in the White Court.

He encourages her role in his schemes. Lord Raith is uninterested in causing trouble with the Medicis so he targets lesser players. She quickly learns the games of the political world. 

When Lara is 15, he encourages her to distract the teenage son of a minor family. The benefits to his removal are limited but it is primarily a test for his daughter. She does as he expected and loses her humanity later that night.

Lord Raith is there to comfort her as he is obligated to as both her lord and her father. Then he binds her to his will and feeds. She must be taught her place. He sees the betrayal in her eyes but pushes down any hints of regret. His actions, though cruel, are necessary and influenced by over a thousand years of tradition. Better that she learns these lessons early.

Lord Raith doubts his daughter forgives him but she is obedient and does not openly defy him.

Every skill Lara had before is enhanced after her awakening. She is brilliant, manipulative, and loyal to her father’s will.

Despite her youth, she is already a dutiful daughter.


	2. Flora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next daughter does not do as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Spanish Inquisition, offscreen torture, offscreen rape, offscreen suicide
> 
> This one is an OC since we don't know much about Lord Raith's dead kids.

Lord Raith is careless with his next daughter. Flora is soft and kind and a devout Catholic. It helps them seem more acceptable to their noble peers.

Seeming acceptable is not enough during the Spanish Inquisition. The excuse is to eradicate heretics, but the monarchy’s true goal is the consolidation of power. The White Court is no longer safe there but Lord Malvora, the current White King, disagrees and House Skavis supports him. The religious fervor ironically causes an increase in fear and despair. Why leave when there are so many easy victims? The Court’s arrogance almost leads to their downfall.

Their very nature makes them vulnerable. White Court vampires are beautiful in a way that drew the notice of artists during the Renaissance. Here, their appearance causes reactions the religiously inclined are disturbed by. Their status has nobility, even with their supposedly limited influence, gives the Inquisition an excuse.

Flora is the most outwardly fragile and it leads to her suffering. They find her wailing in a cell surrounded by the bodies of three men. This is the justification the Court needed. The monarchy cannot be directly targeted so the Court flees to France and lay low for a while.

Flora does not respond to her nature well nor what her father did to her.

“We are demons,” Flora whispers. His daughter’s eyes have gone dull. “Are we damned to hell?”

Lord Raith does not know the answer and admits that. He has personally always thought the idea of an afterlife rather fanciful. Life is already full of pleasure and suffering and the tedious moments in between. What would be the point of the same after that?

Flora, despite or perhaps because of her conservative upbringing, has little control when it comes to feeding. She is frightened and sickened each time, but Lord Raith assumes she will eventually make peace with what she is. She does not.

She starts to isolate herself. He does not see her feed but other things occupy is attention. It is only when she disappears completely that he realizes his mistake. They find Flora’s body three days later at the bottom of a well.

Such losses are always reported to the other Houses. Sometimes remembrance is the only way to honor the ones that don’t survive.

No one is really surprised when Lord Malvora dies under mysterious circumstances and Lord Raith takes the throne. None try to challenge him.


	3. Madeleine + Madrigal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awakenings of his niece and nephew go smoother.

Lord Raith’s niece handles it better than he expects.

Madeleine flirts and dances with whoever she likes starting when she is 14. It is little more than a game for her. She only takes a lover when she is 17. Lord Raith steps in when she is left with only an empty corpse for a lover. She is hurt but he sees the way her eyes light up when she learns what she can do.

What Madeleine felt in her human life is corrupted by her transformation. She was vibrant and desired to experience all that world had to offer. After her awakening, she sees those around her only as playthings or food. She only desires to take and take and take.

<<<

Lord Raith does not have to handle Madrigal himself a week later. Madeleine is already excitedly telling her twin what they are and what they can do. The timing is suspicious but as there is no proof Lord Raith decides to indulge their indiscretion just this once.

Madrigal’s preference for fear does surprise him. It necessitates consulting with Lady Malvora but at least she is more reasonable than her father was.

The twins take well to their discovered natures and have voracious appetites. Unfortunately, they lack the cunning and subtlety expected of the White Court. Lord Raith resolves to keep them firmly under control.


End file.
